


Doctor's Care

by sapphicscullyy



Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicscullyy/pseuds/sapphicscullyy
Summary: From the prompts: "You don't have to stay." and "Can I hold your hand?"
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720627
Comments: 5
Kudos: 74





	Doctor's Care

The monotone room looked as though it was being viewed through black and white film; there was no colour except for a yellow sticky note placed on the desk covered in doctor’s scrawl. It was impossible to determine whether that sun had set since they had been there; a timeless void contained within four walls. The air was filled with the sterile smell that Mulder had long ago associated with hospital trips just like this one.

The chair he was sitting on was covered in a grey material that seemed to have the ability to make his skin itch through the fabric of his pants. Mulder shifted in his seat, nursing his left arm in his lap, unable to relax. The prospect of being treated by any medical professional other than Scully unnerved him. She, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content in the situation, sitting unmoving in the scratchy chair beside his. 

“Scully,” his voice was whiney, dragging out the syllables of her name. “Why couldn’t you have fixed it? Doesn’t it just need to be popped back into place?”

“I said before, Mulder, I suspect that you’ve dislocated it.” She twisted in the seat to look at him. “And if I’m right, there’s a chance that there may be fragments of bone which I can’t fix. Especially without taking an x-ray first.” She paused, then a small smile appeared on her face. “Besides, you forget I deal mainly with dead bodies; they can’t feel pain.”

Mulder huffed a laugh, then grimaced as the movement caused a sting of pain in his shoulder. Scully’s half-smile faded, revealing the worry hidden behind her cool facade, and she added quietly, “I didn’t want to make it any worse.”

He was about to respond, make a quip about her dead patients to make her smile again, when the doctor walked into the room carrying a folder. 

“Hi,” he said, too cheerfully for Mulder’s liking, “I’m Dr Brennan. You must be Fox Mulder. And you’re here for a suspected dislocated shoulder.” Mulder nodded, unsure if the doctor was asking him or telling him. He turned to Scully for help, almost feeling like a little kid again, silently asking her to take over. It was just easier, she knew how to talk with doctors, he didn’t.

“Yes, the joint is swollen and painful and he’s having trouble moving it. Some bruising has also appeared on the skin.” She spoke as though he was not in the room, a level of detachment that only doctors are able to achieve, but her eyes betrayed her concern for him when she met his gaze.

“And you are?” There was no malice in the doctor’s voice.

“Dana Scully, I’m a medical doctor,” she paused, “and his partner.”

Dr Brennan nodded a few times before replying, “You’re most likely right, Dr Scully. I will have to take a quick look myself, though.” He indicated to Mulder. “Would you mind removing your shirt?”

The doctor turned around to grab something from his desk and Mulder raised his good hand and attempted to undo the first button. His fingers fumbled over his shirt, failing to slip the suddenly too-large button through the suddenly too-small hole. He sighed, closed his eyes in defeat, then turned to look at Scully, who had been watching his attempts out of the corner of her eye, and silently asked for her help.

She hid a smile behind her hair, but she couldn’t cover the blush that reached her ears as she stood in front of him and reached for his buttons. She made quick work of his shirt and he pulled his good arm out of the sleeve before she gently slid the other over her swollen shoulder. He winced when her fingers brushed his bruised skin and she whispered an apology.

Dr Brennan’s fingers were icy as he squeezed and prodded at his shoulder. Mulder winced occasionally when he hit a tender spot, and every time he did so, he could feel Scully tense beside him, as though she were ready to rip the doctor’s hands away. He attempted to shoot her some reassuring smiles, but they turned out as more grimace than smile. 

After a few minutes of prodding, Dr Brennan pulled away. “I have to agree with you, Dr Scully,” he said, nodding to himself. “We just need to take a quick x-ray to ensure the bone hasn’t fragmented, although it’s unlikely.”

He could feel Scully’s patented ‘I-told-you-so’ look boring into the back of his head.

Mulder got up to follow Dr Brennan out of the room but paused at the door, turning back to look at her. “You don’t have to stay,” he said softly, “I’m a big boy, I can handle it.” He displayed his ‘big boy’ muscles for her with his functioning arm. 

To his credit, Scully chuckled slightly before the smile slipped from her face, but her eyes remained warm. “I’m staying, Mulder. Of course, I’m staying.” Then her smile returned. “How else will I make sure you do exactly as the doctor says?”

He grinned at her and slipped through the door.

* * *

Mulder reentered the room a few minutes later and joined Scully where she was sitting on the bed. He sat close and bumped her shoulder with his uninjured one. Her lips curved in a hint of a smile and she lightly bumped him back. They didn’t talk. They didn’t have to. They remained like that, silently pressed together, until Dr Bennan returned. 

“I’ve got some good news,” he said as he entered, paying them no heed as they shifted apart on the bed, looking almost like guilty children. “There are no bone fragments in the wound, meaning it should be a clean fix and won’t require anaesthesia.”

“Shouldn’t that be considered bad news?” Mulder mumbled and Scully smirked.

The doctor continued, unfazed, though smiling faintly. “You will, however, have to wear a sling for a few weeks to aid recovery.” Mulder groaned loudly and this time both Scully and Dr Brennan laughed. 

“I’m glad you find this entertaining,” he grumbled.

Dr Brennan informed him on what he was about to do, a procedure which entailed massaging his shoulder then popping it back in when he was least expecting it. The process would hurt less that way, apparently. Mulder still flinched when cold fingers landed on his shoulder once again, poking and prodding. He looked at Scully, giving her his best pout. She almost smiled.

“Can I hold your hand?” he asked, pretending that the gesture wasn’t simply for him, but for both of them. She didn’t answer him verbally, simply grasped his hand tightly in her own. She ran her thumb over his knuckles once and then squeezed. He squeezed back, then turned to Dr Brennan, tempted to ask why he was taking so long.

He heard it before he felt it. A resounding mixture between a pop and a crack that sounded around the room before the pain seared away almost any conscious thought. He cried out, but his voice stuck in his throat, refusing to escape past his lips. He gripped Scully’s hand, grateful for the anchor it provided. He faintly felt her running her thumb over his knuckles. Her voice murmuring in his ear became more and more clear as the pain faded. 

“It’s okay,” she soothed, “it’s okay. It’s done now, it’s over.” He gasped and panted as breath returned to his lungs, loosening his vice grip on her hand only slightly.

“Can you try to move it for me?” Dr Brennan’s voice came through his haze. Mulder hesitantly rolled his shoulder, finding not only that he could move it, but that there was only a small amount of pain as he did so in comparison to previously.

Dr Brennan began to inform him of how he should care for his shoulder in the next few weeks while it was still healing, but he zoned out, knowing Scully would be listening to every word. He knew that she would make sure that he was doing exactly what the doctor ordered, that she would take care of him. He looked over at her and watched her nod along to whatever the other doctor was saying. Sometimes, he was struck by just how lucky he was to have a person like her in his life. She had saved him so many times and continued to do so every day. Her existence was his antidote to the poison of the world.

Suddenly, she was standing before him and nudging his leg with her knee, “Mulder.” He blinked, then stood, nodding his thanks to the doctor as he followed her out of the room. Scully paused to wait for him as he exited, and they walked side by side down the corridor.

“Mulder?” she asked innocently, though she already knew the answer. “Did you listen to anything Dr Brennan said about taking care of your shoulder?”

He tried his best to look sheepish. “No.” 

The false guilt on his face didn’t fool her for a second.

She let out an exasperated sigh, but she was smiling. “I guess I’ll just have to make sure for myself that you’re following the doctor’s orders, won’t I?”

And, once again, he found himself grinning at her.


End file.
